Lyon County commissioners say the Flint Hills Community Health Center-Lyon County Health Department may have gone too far when it cut Friday service to two of its departments as part of budget cuts announced last month.

The Health Center-Health Department's decision to eliminate public walk-in service on Fridays for both public health and environmental health was met with skepticism during the County Commission's study meeting Wednesday. Commissioner Scott Briggs says he was disappointed in the move.

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Commissioners trimmed $28,000 last summer, saying the money was a cash expense and thus outside the scope of county funding. Health Center-Health Department Director Phillip Davis said a clerk position was eliminated, prompting registered nurses to handle data entry. He also said the nurses needed a day away from the public so that information was correctly coded.

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Davis said offsite responsibilities, including sanitation lagoon inspections, will still take place on Fridays as needed.

Briggs complimented the level of service provided by the Health Center-Health Department, but he says the county has been mulling collaboration efforts between the Health Department and Newman Regional Health, and that discussion point may pick up speed. Health Center-Health Department board member Marshal Havenhill says the two health facilities serve different sectors of the regional population, so there isn't as much overlap as one might think.